Not long after that, Hannah called again while sounding angry. Although she was younger than Aurora and her wealth of life experiences did not necessarily match up to the latter's, she had kept tabs on all that had happened to Aurora the entire time.
Hannah did not mention anything about lying low this time while this incident blew over. Instead, she took Ian's side and insisted that the person who extorted Aurora for money would bear the brunt of his own actions.
She also added that the company would take over the matter from now on; while it concerned only Aurora for now, it was a matter of time before Ian got dragged into it.
Ian's contract was still ongoing, and anything that happened to his interests directly affected the company as well.
On the other hand, Ian visibly relaxed after hearing that the company would handle this. Hannah didn't say much else throughout the call, and she hung up a minute or two later.
Presently, Cindy had finished making dinner and brought the dishes out to the table, whereupon she saw Aurora sitting on the couch with a tired look on her face.
Naturally, anyone would be exhausted and perplexed after encountering something like this. It wasn't as if blackmailing incidents such as these could be easily avoided nor anticipated.
The worst part was that they were dealing with a person who did not appeal to good sense and insisted on being unreasonable as well as demanding. Hence, the only thing that could result from such an incident was an overwhelming amount of frustration.
Cindy set the table, and when she was done, she beckoned Ian and Aurora for dinner. Then, she added comfortingly, "Don't worry, things will be solved before you know it. What matters most is that you know you aren't in the wrong." She paused before going on to ask, "Aurora, do you still have those texts he sent you? We need every bit of evidence we have to turn this narrative against him."
Upon hearing this, Aurora turned on her phone. "I do have the texts, and I remember replying to them. See, they're all here." It was as if she had suddenly gained a sense of direction, and she pulled up the conversation she had with the man after her phone was turned on. In his texts, the man claimed that he had started a new life and that he wished Aurora well. Toward the end, the conversation took a sour turn, and the man began to badger her about getting back together. She had kept all these in her inbox.
When Aurora thought about how reluctant she had been to delete these messages before, she wanted to laugh at her hesitation. However, in hindsight, keeping these messages turned out to have its uses.
Aurora quickly captured the conversation and sent the pictures over to Hannah, who later replied by saying that there was nothing to worry about since they clearly had the upper hand right now. She also told Aurora that she could rest easy now that the company was dealing with this.
Not much was said during dinner that night, and Cindy could tell that Ian and Aurora were both in foul moods.
She wanted to cajole them at first, but she knew that as things were, solace meant little to both mother and son. She figured that the only way to reassure them was to allow this whole thing to take its natural progression, and when the company stepped up to deny all rumors, the problem would be solved and things would be back to normal.
As such, Cindy ate her meal in silence.
They were only just done with dinner when Aurora's phone rang, and when she glanced at the caller ID, rage colored her expression.
It was a call from that infuriating man. He discovered that Aurora's phone had been switched on, so he was calling to pester her and continue with the threats.
Cindy wasn't sure what the man was thinking. Does he actually think he has what it takes to stir up trouble for us on the internet?
After all, the netizens were not easily misled. The man could say whatever he wanted, but in the absence of solid proof, Ian could take legal action against him and rally the netizens' support, thereby flipping the narrative.
More importantly, the internet was not free from the rule of law. The man had to be a real simpleton to believe that a lie or two could create scandal enough to bring down Aurora and Ian's respective careers.
On the other hand, Aurora did not answer the man's call. She put the phone on silent mode and ignored him.
In all honesty, Cindy thought it would be much simpler to ignore the man and leave him hanging. Money was probably tight for him if he was desperate to come here and demand it. He might even be staying in some motel, and he wouldn't have the budget for meals and expenses for more than a couple of days. At some point, he would be forced to leave when his money ran out.
She went over to the sink and washed up the fruits while Aurora and Ian sat on the couch. They were both scrolling through their phones and trying to figure out what the man's next move could be.
They would much prefer the man to make a move so that the matter could be concluded, but if he were to drag this on, it would only be a waste of their time.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Returning EX (John and Sophia)
So what happens to Ian and Cindy. Is she/ or does she get pregnant? Do they go back to the city and Ian works with Logan? Does Aurora stay in the entertainment industry or return with Ian? Terrible ending, who cares if Aurora was drinking/drunk with colleagues. What happened with Ian and Cindy?!...
Get rid of Gary. Apparently Cindy is too dumb to figure out his motives 😡...
Why are you trying to break them up when they just got together and are a loving couple. Let them stay close and move back to their true friends, Logan, Lola, John and Sophia!...
Sure hope Ian pulls his head out of his behind and works this out with Cindy. His brother needs him at the company and neither one of them truly like the celebrity life. Sophia and Lola will love her …....
I can’t wait for John to take down the Bailey’s including Isabelle so he, Sophia, William and Matilda can live in peace. Introduce Yolanda to Richard so they are out of the picture....
Ugh, don’t break up Sophia and John… they belong together and Sophia is just stubborn for no reason...
Sophia lives John, he just needs to tell her he loves her and get on with their life and family. Too much interference from others....
Sophia is so stupid....
John needs to man up, tell his mother and Isabelle to take a flying leap and confess to Sophia that he made a horrible mistake in divorcing her. This story is taking too long and once again, the bitches are looking like they are on the right side. Awful...